Page 19-THE NEWS-June/July, 1988
no
@iica
The Holocaust in American
Film. Judith Doneson. The
Jewish Publication Society,
1930 Chestnut Street, Phila
delphia, PA 19103. 1987. 282
pages. $22.95.
Reviewed by Annette Insdorf
Judith Doneson has done a
fine job of historical analysis
in her book, The Holocaust in
American Film. Incisive and il
luminating, it tackles not on
ly individual films, but the
way they reveal American at
titudes from the 1940s to the
early 1980s. By her own ad
mission, “this work focuses on
film in its historical context
and must necessarily b3rpass
film as art.” Consequently,
film critics might be put off by
her lack of attention to cine
matic detail; other readers will
be richly rewarded by her
skiUful contextualization.
Part One, “Reflections of
Anti-Semitism in Film and the
Nazi Persecution of the Jews:
1934-1947,” deals with two
“warning films” about the
specter of the Holocaust —
“The House of Rothschild”
(1934) and “The Great Dic
tator” (1940) — as well as
“Gentleman's Agreement”
(1947), which followed revela
tions of the destruction of
European Jewry. Especially
interesting is her chronicle of
the American response to
Chaplin's cinematic plea for
brotherhood: the film was at
tacked in particular by a group
of senators who supported
isolationist policies in
America.
Part Two places “The Diary
of Anne Frank” in the context
of 1950s America. It argues
that the film version (as weU
as the play) exemplifies an
American tendency to democ
ratize all minority characters
— especially Jewish — ulti
mately universalizing the
Holocaust at the expense of
Jewish specificity. We see how
Otto Frank — because he was
aiming at the largest possible
audience — contributed to the
“de-Judaizing” of the book.
Doneson also persuasively
connects the film to the era's
McCarthyism, or “the danger
posed by the informer.”
“Chaos and Social Up
heaval” explores Holocaust
films of the 1960 and 70s, with
a particular focus on “Judg
ment at Nuremberg” (1961).
The author calls attention to
the significant context of the
Eichmann Trial, including the
fact that this film's premiere
coincided with the prisoner’s
sentencing. After making the
important point that there is
not one Jewish character in
“Judgment at Nuremberg,”
she moves on to other Hol
lywood productions which con
stitute “a mirror of American
society in the 1960s and
1970s.” Although her analyses
of “Ship of Fools” and “Julia”
are conmiendable, she is too
sketchy on “Cabaret,” and too
dismissive of “The Pawn
broker.”
Approximately three-quar-
ters of The Holocaust in
American Film is devoted to
motion pictures, with the re
maining quarter focused on
NBC's “Holocaust.” Doneson
basically defends the con
troversial television mini
series as the first film since
“The Great Dictator” to pre
sent the specificity of the bat
tle against the Jews. Along
with background information,
she offers a reading of the pro
gram in terms of America's
guilt for not taking in Jews
during World War II.
“ ‘Holocaust' does not trivi
alize but popularize...,” she
concludes, after having estab
lished the Jew as the symbol
of hope and the promise of
America.
It is a pity that the section
on television versions of the
Holocaust does not include
“The Wall,” and gives only
passing mention to “Playing
for Time.” Similarly, the Con
clusion merely restates such
reductive comments as “ ‘The
Pawnbroker' is a metaphor for
trouble in Harlem” (ignoring
this film's rich exploration of
survivor guilt), rather than
tackling the difference be
tween fiction and documen
tary — a distinction Doneson
never reaUy addresses. Indeed,
the book would be more ap
propriately entitled The
Holocaust in American Fiction
Film, as her acknowledgement
of documentaries is limited to
passing mention of Genocide,
Who ShaU Uve and Who ShaU
Die?, and Partisians of Vilna.
When alluding to Shoah at the
end she does not even state
that this film is a
documentary.
Nevertheless, her book is an
important addition to Holo
caust inquiry, especially in its
extensive research, attention
to particularly Jewish experi
ence during World War II, and
moral questioning. Its copious
notes, bibliography, filmogra
phy, index and photographs
strengthen the text — a testa
ment to Jewish history and
values.
Annette Insdorf, author of
Indelible Shadows: Film and
the Holocaust, is Professor
and Director of Undergradu
ate Film Studies at Columbia
University.
JUUB
Jewish Books
in Review
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